IN CAR CAMCORDER MOUNT

This is the sort of thing I am looking for

In car camera mounts

Scroll down to SM5 and SM7

Anything like this in Aussie?

Even better, goto Jaycar, and buy one of their small cameras, mount it in a small perpex box, and mount it on the bullbar - this way you dont get the glare off the screen/dash
Then you can lay the video camera in a bag, on the floor in the car, where it wont get damaged, and run the cord from one to the other.

EG: but doesnt have to be this one....

I got some good shots on the Googs Track by taking the mittor off and fixing it there , my Mirror brackets are the same as those on Landcruiser Traybacks

KiwiAngler
I totally missed the point here didn't I . Your post is about IN CAR CAMCORDER MOUNT , My mirror bracket idea is OUT CAR CAMCORDER MOUNT.

Doug

goodday kiwi
that sm7 looks just the ducks guts for what i want for my camera woman as we get a lot of sky shots

just got to find a retailer in melb will go into eliabeth st next sat and have a look around

steve

The mounts in Kiwi's first post are the go but very expensive. I have worked professionally mounting 30kg 35mm movie cameras worth $600K plus on vehicles (Grip) and have a huge amount of respect for the limpet mount systems for lighter stuff. They look dodgey but work brilliantly.

BUT.....they are very expensive. All the gear can be purchased locally from Panavision (aka Greedyvision) in Artarmon Sydney and Cameraquip in Clarendon St Melbourne (not too sure if that's Panavision these days as I don;t do much in Vic) or a comapny called Lemac. All should have websites.

You could also check out the ACS (Australian Cinematographers Society) and the CML (Cinematographers Mailing List) for more info.

My advice is that a handy cam is the way to go. You need a zoom lens to get a good frame and have the abilty to vary it. You should also find the manual apperture lock so the camera doesn't 'hunt' for correct exposure between inside and out.

Another handy tip is to make a lightproof box out of matte black cardboard and gaffer tape from an art supply shop to go between the lens and windscreen. This will avoid the nasty reflections so you don't get a tape full of reflected pictures of the front of your camera rather than what's happening outside. It is the same principal as when you cup your hands around your eyes to look inside a car or shop window.

We often use a 'Cine Saddle' which is just a 'U' shaped canvas bag filled with foam bean bag balls that seems to 'grasp' the camera like a human hand. Often the super serious rig will vibrate too much, so a bit of low tech will often work better. CineSaddle These are great but far too big for your application. Maybe something like this but smaller velcroed to a dash mat would be an idea. I'm sure someone's Mum could whip it up out of an old pair of jeans. It's important it has a zip so you can adjust the packing.

Another mob to talk to is Miller Tripods, an Aussie company who seem to focus more on the smaller tape stuff these days. Again, just look on their website.

I should also point out the importance of lens choice. If you go 'wider' it will look smoother and you'll see more around you, but it will also lose some visual impact. Pictures never show the 'real' look and 4x4'ing always looks a lot less hairy than it really is. It's a bit like watching Bathurst, they just don't look that fast but if you are standing trackside they are absolutely hooting! A 'tighter' lens will look more dramatic, but also rougher and you may miss out on some of the action. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Try and get some variations looking out the side, backwards, at the dash, pedals, gearsticks etc so you can edit the footage on your computer when you get home. Even if it's crap it will give you the 'tools' to cut from shot to shot. This will make it 1000000000000% more watchable and memorable. 30 seconds of one shot is boring enough, an hour is sheer hell. Watch a few good videos you like before you go and note down the camera shots, you'll be surprised how many variations are used.

Hope this helps mate, good luck!

Kiwi,

I went through the same thing - searching for Sony mounts. We do an annual Boy's Trip with the madatory DVD at the end.

My problem was that I was the only one who took a video camera so filming was limited. I wasn't able to attach it to the vehicle as I wanted to have 'outside' footage as well. I was concerned that by mounting the camera I may miss out on the spontaneous (read Bloopers) footage.

I ended up getting a Helmet Cam off ebay. It is made by Oregon Technologies for those crazy enough to get 'air-time' on their mountain bikes etc.

I've made up a bracket off my dash pod and tested it on lots of High Country tracks and roads. It doesn't move and takes reasonable footage. It is self contained and records directly to an internal SD card so there is no cables etc. I get about 60 minutes with a 2gb card.

I now have the cam corder for the outside footage and the helmet-cam for truck footage. Each day/night just download the files from the SD card to the laptop ready for the next day.

Cost for the Helmet Cam was about $240 - cheaper than the good mounts.

PM me with your email address and I can forward a few photos of the helmet cam and setup.

Yeah Kiwi, talk to John Toole from Wannago Tag Along Tours, (google them). He has a video mount in his vehicle which is quite nifty.

Thanks to all for your thoughts and suggestions

especially TIM - I have purchased a helmet cam as shown here

E Bay Helmet Cam

Try looking at a Ram mount. www.rammount.com.au and you may be surprised what they have

I purchased the SM4 from www.b-hague.co.uk for the exact same reason (crossing the Simmo) and I could not be happier with the results.

They aren't cheap compared to some of the other options, but having the twin suction mounts gives the added rigidity and I put it through some tough stuff and it didnt' budge.

So if you have the $$$$, i'd recommend something from them. I dealt with them via email and their customer service was also fantastic.